As of the close on Friday, February 13th, Eastern U.S. time, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $62.89 per barrel, marking a cumulative weekly decline of 1.04%. The price of Brent crude oil futures on the Intercontinental Exchange in London settled at $67.75 per barrel, recording a weekly decrease of 0.44%.

International crude oil futures data for the period February 9th to February 13th:

Date: WTI Crude (USD/barrel), Brent Crude (USD/barrel) February 13: 62.89, 67.75 February 12: 62.84, 67.52 February 11: 64.63, 69.40 February 10: 63.96, 68.80 February 9: 64.36, 69.04 February 6: 63.55, 68.05

Key developments in the oil market for the week of February 9th to February 13th:

According to a Reuters report dated February 13th, two U.S. officials stated that the U.S. military is preparing for potential operations lasting several weeks, should President Donald Trump order an attack on Iran. This situation could escalate into an unprecedented serious conflict between the two nations. The information disclosed by the U.S. officials reportedly increases the risks associated with ongoing diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Iran is prepared to consider making compromises to reach a nuclear agreement with the United States, if the U.S. is willing to discuss lifting sanctions.

Data showed that for the week ending February 9th, the total inventory of refined oil products at the Port of Fujairah in the UAE was 19.699 million barrels, a decrease of 1.791 million barrels from the previous week. Specifically, light distillate stocks decreased by 91,000 barrels to 7.975 million barrels; middle distillate stocks increased by 439,000 barrels to 3.332 million barrels; and heavy residue fuel oil stocks decreased by 2.139 million barrels to 8.392 million barrels.

For the week ending February 6th, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a crude oil inventory increase of 13.4 million barrels, compared to a previous reading of -11.079 million barrels. API Cushing crude inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels, compared to a previous reading of -1.394 million barrels. API distillate inventories decreased by 2 million barrels, compared to a previous reading of -4.811 million barrels. API gasoline inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels, compared to a previous reading of 4.736 million barrels.

For the week ending February 6th, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory increase of 8.53 million barrels, against an expectation of 793,000 barrels and a previous reading of -3.455 million barrels. EIA Cushing, Oklahoma crude inventories increased by 1.071 million barrels, compared to a previous reading of -743,000 barrels. EIA gasoline inventories increased by 1.16 million barrels, against an expectation of a decrease of 362,000 barrels and a previous reading of an increase of 685,000 barrels.